Thinkpads Forum

I have been looking to expand my collection and wanted a 15" screen. What are your thoughts on the T500? I am looking for a low cost solution similar to the T61. Basically I just like tinkering with laptops and everything I have is a 14" screen right now.

So T500, T510, the T520 is still too pricey at the moment.

It's a great machine. I have the W500 version.

It's up to every modern task, except those requiring Nvidia CUDA, such as editing modern video formats.

The idle temperatures are startlingly low. At idle, the CPU core temperatures are perhaps 10C above ambient room.

Could I put in my old Q6600 with a bios mod? It will run at 2.8ghz without adjusting the voltage. I could even undervolt it to run @2.4ghz which is the stock speed.

I have a T500 as a spare. The price is negotiable but will be probably lower than you might think. Contact me here: rrhody@yahoo.com

Hans Gruber wrote:Could I put in my old Q6600 with a bios mod?

No.

I'm fairly certain that even a BIOS mod wouldn't help you there.

ajkula66 wrote:

Hans Gruber wrote:Could I put in my old Q6600 with a bios mod?

No.

I'm fairly certain that even a BIOS mod wouldn't help you there.

Ok, just checking. So what are your thoughts on the T500, George?

precip9 wrote:It's a great machine. I have the W500 version. <snip> The idle temperatures are startlingly low. At idle, the CPU core temperatures are perhaps 10C above ambient room.

Sorry, slightly OT: What are the running temps? I just received four W500 systems and the first two that I ran memtest86+ on got so hot on the bottom that I thought they would shut down (they both ran for over an hour before I pulled the plug).

edit: First three units are 4062-26U; T9600(2.8GHz), 4GB RAM, 512MB ATI FireGL V5700. The fourth one I haven't un-boxed yet. It should be a 4063-GQ1; same CPU and GPU as the 26U.

Hans Gruber wrote:
Ok, just checking. So what are your thoughts on the T500, George?

It's alright.

We have a R500 which would be the equivalent of an Intel-based T500 and it has been very reliable. I've also used a pre-production W500 for over six months as my daily driver and liked it a lot, apart from the screen.

To me personally, which LCD one gets in "screen lottery" that is very present in this generation of machines makes or breaks the whole experience.

Samsung = garbage

LG Philips = acceptable to very good.

Other than the fact that most of these systems sport a webcam, I'd rather have a 15.4" T61/p. But that's me.

rkawakami wrote:

precip9 wrote:It's a great machine. I have the W500 version. <snip> The idle temperatures are startlingly low. At idle, the CPU core temperatures are perhaps 10C above ambient room.

Sorry, slightly OT: What are the running temps? I just received four W500 systems and the first two that I ran memtest86+ on got so hot on the bottom that I thought they would shut down (they both ran for over an hour before I pulled the plug).

I don't know. Gamer discussions give the opposite impression. So the high CPU usage versus low CPU usage experiences may be different.

The Penryn version in the T/W500/400 has a sharp drop in power consumption, compared to the previous CPU series. This is the result of simultaneous shrinking of the geometry from 60nm to 45nm, and incorporation of vanadium to the doping.

What is the best value processor in the T500?

Hans Gruber wrote:What is the best value processor in the T500?

In my opinion, T9400/T9600.

I have a W500, nice. I think mine runs a little on the warm side, especially when doing video editing. I find the default screen resolution a little hard to read.
Sent from my iPad2

Does the T500 take the same batteries as the T410 series?

Hans Gruber wrote:Does the T500 take the same batteries as the T410 series?

No.

It takes the batteries as found in *60 and *61 series apart from the 14" widescreen T61.

T9600(2.8GHz), 4GB RAM, 160GB 7200rpm HD, 15.4in 1680x1050 LCD, 256MB ATI Radeon HD3650, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11agn wireless, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ether, UltraNav, Sec Chip, FPR, Camera, Turbo Mem, 9c Li-Ion, WinVista Business 32



This is what I got. I will swap out the ram and put in 8GB 2 X 4GB of new Gskil memory and put in an SSD drive. Do these things take the same 90w power supplies as the T410 series?

Hans Gruber wrote:T9600(2.8GHz), 4GB RAM, 160GB 7200rpm HD, 15.4in 1680x1050 LCD, 256MB ATI Radeon HD3650, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11agn wireless, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ether, UltraNav, Sec Chip, FPR, Camera, Turbo Mem, 9c Li-Ion, WinVista Business 32



This is what I got. I will swap out the ram and put in 8GB 2 X 4GB of new Gskil memory and put in an SSD drive. Do these things take the same 90w power supplies as the T410 series?

Yes.

wmgeorge64 wrote:I have a W500, nice. I think mine runs a little on the warm side, especially when doing video editing. I find the default screen resolution a little hard to read.
Sent from my iPad2

What kind of video editing program do you use? When I checked, it satisfied none of the professional program requirements.

precip9 wrote:

wmgeorge64 wrote:I have a W500, nice. I think mine runs a little on the warm side, especially when doing video editing. I find the default screen resolution a little hard to read.
Sent from my iPad2

What kind of video editing program do you use? When I checked, it satisfied none of the professional program requirements.

I use the Sony Platinum HD version 10. It also seems to run some of the AutoDesk products, like 123D. Mine has the ATI Grapics, maybe they all do?

T500 is a solid machine and very reliable, mine took around 22K to 24K hours of use before the dedicated GPU failed so a good one will last a Long time! In the end I scrapped it for parts for my W500 that I had bought off eBay for like $35 shipped that had been cannibalized for parts. Surprisingly it looked as though it is a low hours sample and the screen is amazing condition wise.

Running with a P series core 2 will make a difference on the temps for most use unless you do some casual gaming.

T500 is a great machine. I am typing on it right now and it is my everyday laptop, even though I have pretty decent heavy lifters (Sager Clevo, Alienware, W520 to name a few), but this one does ALMOST everything you can ask from a laptop, including moderate gaming as well if you have ATI model.
Mine has ATI radeon GPU, 8 Gigs of RAM, 180 GB SSD (Intel), T9900 processor (I swapped it for P8600), FHD screen and Advanced Mini Dock.
You can get barebones (no HDD, no RAM, low CPU) for around $30-60 in USA and put all those parts laing around to upgrade it.
You do have all those parts (HDD, RAM and what not), right? RIGHT?

This is what I have coming in the mail.

T9600(2.8GHz), 4GB RAM, 15.4in 1680x1050 LCD, 256MB ATI Radeon HD3650, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11agn wireless, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ether, UltraNav, Sec Chip, FPR, Camera, Turbo Mem, 9c Li-Ion, WinVista Business 32 COA

I will put in a temporary HDD to test out the T500 and then put in a 128GB SSD and an 8GB ram kit. This one is pretty much loaded minus the 1920x1080 screen.

I got the T500 today. The hinge on the right is loose. Is it possible to tighten the hinge by taking the front besal off? It's a lot of work to get the heatsink off on these T500 series thinkpads.

Do the hinges wear out or do they just need to be tightened?

With the screen off, the hinge on the right side wiggles laterally. It pivots without problem opening and closing.

Download this maintenance manual:

https://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/p ... 630_03.pdf

The right (smaller) hinge typically gives no trouble. The left (larger) hinge gives complicated trouble.

precip9 wrote:Download this maintenance manual:

https://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/p ... 630_03.pdf

The right (smaller) hinge typically gives no trouble. The left (larger) hinge gives complicated trouble.

Yeah, the left larger one with all the wiring is solid. Thanks for the link.

On the bottom, 2nd screw from the edge.
A second screw from the top after the bezel has been removed.

The bottom screw on the edge has nothing to do with the hinge.

wmgeorge64 wrote: I use the Sony Platinum HD version 10. It also seems to run some of the AutoDesk products, like 123D. Mine has the ATI Grapics, maybe they all do?

All the W500 have ATI, so a W500 won't run modern HD capable versions of Avid or Adobe Premier. Interesting that Sony Platinum runs. Autodesk supported ATI way back.

I spent all night cleaning up this T500. It was not in the best of shape when I got it. I fixed the hinge so the screen works like brand new. Used a lot of rubbing alcohol and water to clean the machine up. Repasted the CPU, GPU and integrated graphics GPU. Put in 8GB of ram.

Later in the day I will put on Windows 7 64 bit. I have this old 80GB HDD to use as a test drive. The T500 looks like new now.

The T500 is not the easiest Thinkpad to work on. Just getting to the heatsink requires taking off the LCD or dismounting one side.

I need a new battery. Should I get a 6 cell or a 9 cell battery? This T500 has ATI graphics. I am using a 90w power supply.

Depends on whether you want smaller lighter weight or longer run time at the expense of additional weight.

Neil wrote:Depends on whether you want smaller lighter weight or longer run time at the expense of additional weight.

What do you have in your T500?